Chapter 62 Yuan Er's Front and Back Mountains
Wang Yuying's eyes darted around quickly, her gaze sweeping over the surface of the Hugu Sumeru once, then once more, and then once more.
Her mind was in turmoil; she couldn't figure it out, couldn't give an answer, or rather, couldn't give a hasty, unthought-out reply in such a short time.
She walked backwards, thinking again, thinking again… When she reached the outside of the shed, the sunlight was brighter than inside. Wang Yuying instinctively closed her eyes, and her body lurched backwards. Hugu reached out to help her, but she quickly stepped aside, ran down the steps, and fled as if escaping—after making things clear and before giving him a reply, she could no longer have any contact with him.
Jingye saw Wang Yuying coming down. Usually, she would descend the stone steps quickly, one step at a time, but today, for some reason, Jingye felt inexplicably uneasy, as if he was afraid she would miss a step with every step.
"I have something to attend to, I'll be going now." Jing Ye bid farewell to the guards and hurried towards Wang Yuying, raising his hand to help her up.
Wang Yuying walked up the last two stone steps by herself, stepping onto the solid grass, but she still felt uneasy. She walked straight towards the gate, and Jing Ye followed her out of the North Garden. After passing through the gate, Wang Yuying turned her head towards Jing Ye, but did not look at him: "I'm going back to the Ministry of War first."
Jingye responded and then hurriedly left, returning to the palace alone.
On the way, Wang Yuying kept thinking, but the more she tried to sort it out, the more confused she became, and she broke out in a sweat in the dead of winter.
Watching polo had delayed my official duties for nearly half a day, so I got busy as soon as I entered the Ministry of War, temporarily putting aside the mess in my mind. I didn't finish everything until 9 PM, and returned to Yongjia Lane just before curfew.
When she let her hair down, it became messy, with several knots at the ends, and it took her a while to comb it out. Lying in bed, she continued to recall Hugu's confession in the shed, tossing and turning until she was exhausted from thinking about it. Her eyelids drooped, and she fell asleep without realizing it.
After a deep sleep, I drifted off to sleep.
In the dream, my family was still lying in bed, but the room was filled with a warm and sweet fragrance, as if honey candles were burning inside. I could also see a huge candle shadow on the bed, but I couldn't find the actual candle.
Another shadow appeared on the tent, larger than the candle, slowly obscuring the candlelight and leaning down to cover it.
She then realized that in her dream, a golden bell was tied to her bare right foot.
A large, broad hand slowly reached out from behind and grasped her ankle, causing the golden bell to ring crisply.
Wang Yuying instinctively pulled her legs back and asked in surprise, "Who are you?"
The person didn't answer, but instead grabbed her foot forcefully, forcing her to bend her knees.
He had long, slender legs, which were spread apart, and his face was indistinct, yet he sealed her lips with a kiss.
He clung to her tenderly for a long time, but then suddenly became several times more forceful, sucking without taking a breath, turning his head left and right to kiss her lips, cheeks, and neck, as if he wanted to leave his domineering and tyrannical mark on every part of her body.
She tilted her head back to receive his kiss, but when he reached her brow, he slowed down and became gentle again, starting from the inner corner of her brow and kissing all the way to the outer corner. His soft lips lingered in her brow until her furrowed brows completely relaxed before he changed his position.
He kissed her eyelashes with the same patience, as if to wipe away the tears that had once flowed and now vanished.
When the man bit his lip again, the four petals intertwined and stuck together, and Wang Yuying heard herself and the man sigh at the same time.
A warm current rose from her lower abdomen. She wanted it to be hot and burning, to make herself even hotter and hotter. So the sheets on the bed remembered that they were originally made of silk, as soft as the curtains, able to flutter at the four corners, able to wrap and coil, tightly enveloping him. The man clearly sensed it, and responded even more urgently, as if they both wanted to embed the other into their very bones.
When the flowers bloom, they shed leaves all over the ground.
Although she couldn't see the man's face, Wang Yuying could tell that as she trembled for a long time, the corners of his lips were raised, and his eyes were full of appreciation, satisfaction, and pride.
"Try again, you can do it." He gently picked her up and encouraged her.
His embrace was so broad and warm that even a block of ice could melt in it, let alone her, who was already melted. She felt boneless in his warm and soft embrace, yet her lips pressed against his collarbone in response.
Suddenly, the red candles on the tent came to life, were knocked over, and poured down on the two of them, quickly spreading and covering the tent, sticking to their bodies. The two of them were also submerged in the candle wax, seemingly sinking and floating. Suddenly, she noticed the man's bare chest. A gilded beaded chest chain draped over his shoulders and hung down to his abdomen. The chain swayed slightly with his movements, and a few drops of sweat seeped into the gaps beneath the chain.
She'd seen this kind of outfit before! Male entertainers dancing in luminous glasses!
The dancers at Hudian all had golden bells wrapped around their feet!
She knew who the man in her dream was. As the mist cleared, she saw the man's deep eyebrows and eyes, which were different from those of Han people, and his pair of unique pale gray-blue eyes.
It is indeed the Hugu Sumeru!
Wang Yuying suddenly sat up in bed, the brocade quilt slipping off.
She woke up with a start and stopped the dream.
Sitting on the bed, still shaken and drenched in cold sweat.
Recalling her dream, in which she was so afraid of waking up that she wandered around wildly, as if she wanted to devour him whole, she finally admitted that she not only had desire for Hugu Xumi, but also had feelings for him.
She couldn't figure it out, not because she was truly unable to, but because she was feigning slowness and deceiving herself by dragging it out day by day.
Wang Yuying had forgotten to pull up the quilt, and although charcoal was burning in the room, her upper body was still freezing cold. She felt ashamed and angry at what Xu Heng had said, guilty about her hypocrisy and despicable behavior, and at the same time, she was shocked with disbelief: could she really fall in love with someone?
I thought I had long since lost this ability.
Wang Yuying's heart was pounding and burning, and she was also terrified. She didn't know how this love had suddenly come to her. It was not only swift and intense, but it also made her dizzy.
It's like someone who can't hold their liquor drinking strong liquor; one sip and they're completely intoxicated, losing all sense of direction.
This is completely different from her previous relationship. Her last relationship was a gradual one, a love that blossomed over time, taking two years from acquaintance to understanding to love. But Hugu has only been in Beijing for a few days?
Wang Yuying had no experience in this situation and was at a loss for what to do.
She recalled how old she was when she developed feelings for Xu Hengsheng, but they hadn't yet confessed their feelings to each other. Sixteen. She thought she had hidden it well, but in reality, even the roses and banana trees in her house could clearly see her girlish thoughts.
Her mother asked her privately if she was interested in Prince Su.
Wang Yuying was initially reluctant to talk about it, but her mother said it wasn't that she was against it, but she just wanted to understand and give advice as someone who had been through it, so as to prevent her from being hurt.
So Wang Yuying poured out all her thoughts, joys and sorrows, and all the unspoken words and happy imaginings in her heart to her mother.
After hearing this, her mother sighed, which must have been dissatisfying, but she didn't say anything harsh. Instead, she said, "Where love exists, there is home," and told her to find an opportunity to invite Prince Su to a family banquet.
Later, her mother must have discussed it with her father behind her back, otherwise how could she have married into the royal family so smoothly, happily, and carefree?
Her parents had weathered so many storms for her. She didn't understand then, unaware that while her heart was set on Xu Heng, her parents were also deeply worried about her.
Now, Wang Yuying looked at the curtains, bedding, and the unusually empty room. No one was there to listen to her complaints, nor could anyone offer her advice on this matter.
But Wang Yuying soon came to terms with it. If she had gotten pregnant and given birth to a daughter right after getting married, a few years later, it would have been her turn to listen to her daughter recount her teenage thoughts.
She has reached the age where she can listen to others and share their burdens.
Wang Yuying dressed and got out of bed, each step firm and resolute. She took down the ancestral longsword hanging on the wall—when she left the palace, Qingfu had sent a group of eunuchs to help carry her luggage, and at the same time, he returned this sword to her.
She took her sword and went to the second courtyard. All the flowers had been moved into the hall, and the flower stands were empty, making the space seem even more spacious.
A waning moon hung high, stars scattered, and in the stillness, Wang Yuying drew her sword, a flash of white light as white as frost and snow appearing instantly. Her figure was like a crane as she practiced the family's ancestral sword technique in the courtyard, her mind constantly recalling how her father had taught her each move step by step when she was a child. Her father said that the Wang family's sword technique was either not learned at all, or if you learned it, you would have to shoulder the responsibility of protecting your family and country for the rest of your life.
She thought of the rammed earth city of Yangguan, with tall watchtowers at each of its four corners, where soldiers stood guard against the enemy outside the walls, never daring to slacken their vigilance for a single day.
Beneath the yellow sands of the vast desert lie the bones of generations of loyal soldiers.
She forced herself to keep thinking, and her sword danced faster and faster.
At the end of the midnight hour, Wang Yuying sensed movement, turned around, and saw that it was Chu Ying.
She immediately sheathed her sword, her voice barely audible: "I'm sorry, I woke you up."
Chu Ying shook her head and walked into the courtyard: "You deliberately kept your voice down, so ordinary people couldn't hear you."
Snow and Frosty Sky are both fast asleep!
Chu Ying sat down on the stone bench: "It's because I just hadn't slept yet."
Wang Yuying walked towards Chu Ying, her voice softer than the wind: "Why can't you sleep?"
"It's here." Chu Yingfeng said calmly.
Having lived together for a long time, they knew some of each other's secrets. Wang Yuying knew that Chu Ying would always have diarrhea on the first day of her period every month.
Wang Yuying immediately showed concern and advised her to see a doctor.
"It's nothing, it's an old ailment!" Chu Ying said nonchalantly. "I've had this problem since I first came here, and it's been like this for over ten years. It's been incurable. My family has consulted countless doctors, and they all say that I need to get married and have children to get better."
Wang Yuying pondered upon hearing this. In fact, her menstrual cycle was also a mess. She had no period at all in the northern border region and thought it was over, but this year it suddenly came twice.
"Keep practicing, don't worry about me." Chu Ying urged Wang Yuying to go practice her sword. "I probably have to go several more times. It's close by, so I'll just sit and watch you practice. I'll go when I feel unwell."
Wang Yuying resumed her stance, her sword moving with her body, light as a swallow and like a swimming dragon, the moonlight seeming to pour down from her blade.
Before she could finish a sword routine, she suddenly stopped, abruptly withdrawing her stance and causing the sword to scatter a flower of light.
Chu Ying also looked towards the door and saw someone tiptoeing into the alley and approaching the door.
It was pitch black; the moon could only be seen around 1-3 AM.
Without Wang Yuying giving any instructions, Chu Ying disappeared and climbed over the wall to see what was going on.
A moment later, she whispered from outside the wall, "Girl, you are the king's woman."
Wang Yuying was not surprised at all. She gently opened the gate, and the Di man stood outside without entering. He simply bowed and said, "It was my recklessness that disturbed Miss Wang's peaceful dream. I hope you will forgive me."
Although his Chinese wasn't very fluent, he spoke in a refined manner: "Just now, His Majesty gave an order that I should wait until you go out to work before I can communicate with you. I must not disturb your rest."
"What message does he want to convey?" Wang Yuying asked without blinking.
"The day after the winter solstice, the king will depart from the capital. He wants to meet the girl one last time before the grand ceremony."
“I don’t have time before the winter solstice.” Wang Yuying immediately replied, “I have a day off seven days after the winter solstice. If he can wait, we can meet; if not…” She suddenly couldn’t breathe, her chest felt so tight that she wanted to agitate, “If he can’t, then we shouldn’t meet again.”
The Di man didn't say much after hearing this; he bowed to Wang Yuying and took his leave.
After locking the door, Wang Yuying walked towards the side room. Chu Ying followed and watched. Was she not going to continue practicing swordsmanship? She didn't say much, but her stomach hurt, so she hurriedly bid farewell to Wang Yuying.
Wang Yuying stepped into the main hall alone. The camellias, which bloomed like fire in the daytime, seemed to have been reduced to a dark and cold outline at night.
*
Sifangguan.
Hakutani Sumi was still wearing the same clothes that Baba had changed into last time, sitting behind the table with his head propped up on his elbow.
After hearing the attendant's report, he remained silent for a moment before speaking: "By my decree, the return journey deadline is postponed..."
Upon hearing this, the attendant, so worried that he forgot his rank, suddenly raised his head and looked up at the vast valley.
Hugu noticed the attendant's reaction, but still continued, "We will postpone it to eight days after the winter solstice, and leave the capital at midnight sharp."
He sat up straight and instructed his attendant, "Go and tell her that I agree, but she must reserve her entire day off for me."
After speaking, Hugu Xumi felt that the word "all" was too greedy, and his brows furrowed slightly, but he quickly smoothed them out. It was only a day, how much could he be greedy for? He recalled a poem by a Han Chinese called "Bodhisattva's Charm", in which there was a line that was quite fitting for his current state of mind: "I must fight my whole life to enjoy today to the fullest."
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